There has been a large growth in the deployment of consumer electronic devices by service providers such as cable, satellite and phone companies. These service providers are installing digital consumer electronic devices to millions of homes annually. In many cases these consumer electronic devices are dedicated for the delivery of digital television programming or other interactive entertainment services.
These consumer electronic devices are being equipped with faster and more powerful processors. These processors often have more speed and power than is used by the consumer electronic devices, even during peak usage. Further, the processors may have periods during a day where they are not used at all, such as during times when the consumer is sleeping or away from home. It would be advantageous if the service provider could find a way to use the extra speed and power of the processor not being utilized by the consumer.
In the cable industry, it is common for a cable service provider to provide a cable box to a consumer so that the consumer may receive cable service. Typically, the cable service provider will retain ownership of the cable box, and may charge the consumer a monthly fee for each box provided. These cable boxes are being equipped with faster and more powerful processors. While the cable boxes of today provide more services than in the past, such as interactive guides, pay per view, movies on demand, etc., even these extra services may often under utilize the processor. Further, because the cable service provider usually retains ownership of the cable box and the processor it is equipped with, it would be advantageous if the cable service provider could find a way to use the extra speed and power of the processor not being utilized by the consumer.